Mugabe
flies back to Asia, as health woes continue

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe is travelling back
to Singapore on Thursday for further medical attention, a clear sign that
the 87 year-old leader has not fully recovered.

Mugabe’s health
problems have swelled in the past few months and two weeks ago, his
spokesperson George Charamba announced through the state media that the
veteran leader had gone to the Asian country for a cataract review after an
operation early this year.

But sources in government insisted yesterday
that Mugabe is having serious problems with prostate cancer which needs
attention.

At his birthday function last week, Mugabe admitted that his
body was now getting tired but his brains remain sharp.

A top
government official said: “Mugabe is travelling back to Singapore tomorrow
(Thursday) to seek medical attention. He has not disclosed what exactly the
problem is. The last time he went there George Charamba told us that he had
gone for review after an operation on one of his eyes.

“But we believe
that there is more to it than a mere cataract. There is something wrong
because after a cataract operation a person should recuperate after a few
days. But this is the third time Mugabe is going to Asia in two months," he
said.

“Remember the international media last time speculated that the old
man is having problems with prostate cancer. I think he should just come out
in the open about his health and we move on with life.”

Mugabe has in
the past week been trying hard to prove that he is still fit to continue
ruling the country and was seen on national television struggling to go up
the stairs on a visit to the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

While addressing
his supporters in Harare during Zanu PF’s anti sanctions function, Mugabe
spent most of the time leaning on the podium.

ZANU
PF shuts down Harare for ‘sanctions’ rally

Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF on Wednesday shut down Harare for the
party’s ‘anti-sanctions’ rally, with thousands of people bussed into the
capital to demonstrate against the targeted measures.

Hundreds more
people were forced to attend the rally, where Mugabe launched the party’s
campaign against targeted restrictive measures in place against him and his
cronies. SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa explained how market
stalls and shops in and around the city were forced to close, with patrons
and shop owners frog-marched to the rally.

The MDC’s information
department on Wednesday said it was “overwhelmed by a number of calls from
Harare motorists and residents reporting acts of harassment and intimidation
for their reluctance to join the ZANU PF side-show and non-event.” The party
said that shop-owners in Avondale were forced to temporarily lock up their
doors after truckloads of reportedly drunken ZANU PF youths stormed the
shopping centre and ordered people to attend the rally.

Newspaper
vendors in the city centre were also forced to flee for safety following an
attack by ZANU PF gangs, who ordered them to attend the rally. According to
the MDC, one of the vendors was said to have been assaulted and “could be
seen bleeding profusely.” Another vendor had to seek refuge at the NewsDay
newspaper offices.

In Budiriro a resident, Abednico Munda, was assaulted
by ZANU PF youths who accused him of not following orders to attend the
rally. In Epworth, schools were closed and families were forced to wait for
transport to the rally. At the same time, most public transport in the
capital was diverted from their normal routes by ZANU PF thugs who, with the
assistance of the police, blocked roads and directed people to the rally.
Dozens of open lorries and buses were also seen heading to the venue, filled
with ZANU PF youths wearing party regalia and chanting the party’s
slogans.

An eyewitness from Marondera, who was in Harare on Wednesday
morning, reported seeing about 10 trucks heading to the city from Marondera,
loaded with people being taken to the rally. The eyewitness said one truck
was filled with about 60 Vapostori church members, while about 40 ZANU PF
youths were seen sitting on the luggage rack of a crammed bus. The
eyewitness added that everyone else had their eyes averted, “trying to look
inconspicuous.”

ZANU PF has for several weeks been forcing people to sign
a petition, calling for the targeted measures to be lifted. Mugabe on
Wednesday officially launched the campaign, and added his name to the
petition along with other top ZANU PF officials on the Western sanctions
lists. The 87 year old dictator told the rally that action should be taken
against the countries that have imposed the measures, once again blaming the
‘sanctions’ for Zimbabwe’s economic downfall. Mugabe said Zimbabwe is going
to boycott American and European products and take action against those
British and American companies operating in Zimbabwe.

“Standard
Chartered (a UK based banking group) has been doing badly in Europe, but
doing best in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. Stanchart in Harare has thus been
externalising funds for the benefit of the branches in Europe. We are going
to make sure we take action against these European and American banks
operating in Zimbabwe, Stanchart and Barclays,” Mugabe said.

SW Radio
Africa’s Muchemwa pointed out the irony of these statements, explaining that
the only British or American products in Zimbabwe are a result of aid
packages. These packages are still necessary in Zimbabwe because of ZANU
PF’s and Mugabe’s destructive policies. All other foreign produce in
Zimbabwe is there to fill the massive gap in the market that used to be
filled by local produce. Local production however has all but disappeared as
a result of Mugabe’s land grab campaign.

The MDC meanwhile has distanced
itself from the rally, where ZANU PF included Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and his deputy Thokozani Khupe on the line-up of top figures set
to sign the petition. Neither of the MDC officials arrived at the rally, and
the state media has been using this as a reason to blast the party’s
commitment to the unity government. The state owned Herald reported that
their no-show at the rally “will put under further scrutiny the party's
commitment to the Global Political Agreement in which they pledged to oppose
sanctions.”

But the MDC’s spokesman Nelson Chamisa insisted that the
rally was merely a ZANU PF project and platform, which was not supported by
the MDC. He avoided talking about the Global Political Agreement, and the
fact that the MDC signed off on the fact of targeted measures to be lifted.
But he did slam the ‘sanctions’ debate as “misbegotten and misguided.” He
said that the “targeted restrictive measures are symptoms of a bigger
problem. That bigger problem still exists.”

“ZANU PF is desperate to
lend credence to its work after realising that the majority of Zimbabweans
will not support them. They used our party President to try and lure people
to an event, because on their own, they know no one will turn up,” Chamisa
said.

Meanwhile, another eyewitness at the rally said that it “gave a
clear indication of how people at present respond to the demand to attend a
rally, but are not prepared to remain or listen to the main speaker.” They
said that by 11:30 on Wednesday morning, groups of people started leaving,
and the numbers leaving continued to grow and reached a peak during Mugabe’s
speech, with people saying: "he has nothing new to say", "the fact that
there is some rain is not a problem, if he had something to say we would
stay", and "we are hungry and this does not interest us".

Zimbabweans
Promised Loans If They Sign Anti-Sanctions Petition

Harare, March 02, 2011 - President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF)
party is dangling loans ranging from US$ 100 dollars to more than US$ 1000
for projects to unemployed ordinary Zimbabweans to mobilise people to sign a
petition to have sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle
removed, Radio VOP has learnt.

Some party youths at the Siyaso market
stalls in Mbare on Tuesday confirmed that Zanu (PF) is promising to dish out
thousands of dollars to Zanu PF youths and ordinary people in return to have
the sanctions petition signed and to rally their support for the
party.

"People are being promised loans for projects. Some people, we
heard got their loans approved. It depends on what you want to do, you need
to write a business project proposal and we hear some people already got
their loans," one Mbare youth told Radio VOP on condition of
anonymity.

"Some people want to have stands or a market stall stand at
Mupedzanhamo and we are being promised that we will have such
things."

Zanu PF spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo denied the reports that
people are being forced to attend the anti-sanctions campaign and being paid
to sign on the petition describing the reports as 'nonsense'. He said
preparations for the anti-sanctions campaign were on course.

"That is
nonsense. It is the usual propaganda that media and people say. This is a
voluntary programme and no-one is being forced to attend. I hope when you
cover the event tomorrow as media you will not say we forced you to attend
(referring to this correspondent)," Gumbo said.

Mugabe and his Zanu PF
party will on Wednesday launch the 'anti-sanctions' campaign in the capital
Harare amid fears that people will be forced to attend the meeting while
business fears their shops will closed.

The European Union (EU) and its
Western allies imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his close associates for
trampling on human rights of Zimbabweans and electoral fraud among other
reasons in 2002 after the presidential polls which were condemned
worldwide.

In 2008 Zanu PF supporters embarked on a 'million man' march
in the capital, forced businesses to close while people were forced to
attend Mugabe's key address. Trucks and lorries were hijacked to ferry
people to Highfield after Zanu PF supporters blocked cars and forced drivers
to ferry people to Highfield where Mugabe addressed the marchers.

The
party which has been ruling the country since independence in 1980 is
already in an election campaign mood after declaring that elections must be
held this year.

Mugabe’s propaganda petition, with the usual diet of
thuggery and lies thrown in for good measure

Mugabe has launched an ‘anti-sanctions’ petition
called the ‘National Anti-Sanctions Petition’ today. The Herald carries a lengthy piece citing numerous individuals
apparently supporting this campaign, referring to it as a “step further in
fighting the illegal Western sanctions on the country”. Mugabe would like the
nation to believe that the sanctions applied by the West are not ‘targeted
sanctions’ against a select number of corrupt human rights abusing individuals,
but broad and sweeping against the whole country. According to some adverts
appearing in the media, the Zanu PF claim is that the sanctions are not
personalized or targeted but an attack on all Zimbabweans. It says that
sanctions are an illegal measure by foreigners aimed at a sovereign people. In
addition, it says that sanctions are an outsider’s policy set against an
independent country and people with its own legislature.

The Herald, as usual, does its best to support
it’s master’s message. (We, the people still waiting for the much needed media
reforms to come out of the inclusive government!).

Assuming for a brief moment that Zanu PF have a
point, and that these targeted sanctions (sorry Zanu PF, they are targeted) do
have a terrible affect on the whole country, it leaves me with questions that
nobody ever really seems to ask in the context of this claim: exactly how rich
are these selected individuals against whom sanctions have been targeted? Is it
possible that all the wealth and assets of our nation are concentrated in the
hands of a tiny tiny few? Is it possible that by applying sanctions against
these few it devastates the country? Is this the real truth (if there is any) in
Zanu PF’s assertion that sanctions damage the country?

If my questions have any substance, it seems to
me that the answers say less about the great ‘evil’ of the West, and a great
deal more about the grand scale corruption and theft of
national assets by a few.

Trucks and buses carrying President Robert
Mugabe’s supporters arrived Wednesday at the Glamis stadium field on the edge of
the city center as a volatile mood mounted.

The supporters sang slogans and raised
Mugabe’s trademark clenched fist salute; there were no immediate reports of
violence.

The streets of the Harare CBD are business as
usual, but the areas surrounding the Harare show grounds have been cordoned off,
with an estimated 15 000 people gathering at the showgrounds to sign the
sanctions petition.† This morning’s ZBC showcased one story only, the anti
sanctions campaign.† The newscaster quoted the Head of State and Government and
commander in chief as claiming the land reform has failed because British
importers refuse to purchase Zimbabwe’s produce and insurance western insurance
companies have orchestrated the downfall of tourism as they refuse to insure any
travellers visiting our peaceful country.

It is very important to any dictator launching a
public show of protest, that the TV screens and news photographs show thousands
of supporters apparently supporting this message. A swell of numbers apparently
lending truth and credibility to what we all really know is a pile of dung. It
doesn’t really matter whether we do or do not want to support the campaign, and
Zanu PF doesn’t really care either; the ‘appearance’ that we do is all
important.

So the next step in any propaganda campaign is
to bring on the thugs and brutes.

The word on the street is that businesses were
visited by uniformed police this morning demanding that business owners and
their staff attend the rally.† Buses are forcing people to attend and several
people going to work this morning were surrounded by unruly mobs, who rocked
their vehicles, demanding they turn around and attend the Zanu PF
launch.

The MDC announced this morning that

Most Harare public transporters have today been
diverted from their normal routes by Zanu PF thugs who blocked roads with the
help of the police to direct people towards their so-called anti-restrictive
measures campaign. Dozens of open Lorries and rickety buses commandeered from
the rural areas with youths donning Zanu PF outfits and chanting the party’s
slogans could be seen heading towards the venue. In Mbare, the city’s oldest
suburb, major public markets are closed. All vendors were forced to attend the
so-called ceremony.

In addition to this, the MDC said:

Newspaper vendors in Harare city centre have
been forced to flee for safety following an attack by Zanu PF terror gangs
instructing them to attend the Zanu PF’s anti- restrictive measures campaign.
One of the vendors was said to have been assaulted and could seen bleeding
profusely. Another had to seek refuge at the Newsday newspaper
offices.

And in this MDC alert:

In Budiriro, Zanu PF thugs have assaulted one
Abednico Munda of Budiriro 3 accusing him of not following orders to attend the
Zanu PF’s anti-restrictive measures campaign. He was then bundled into one of
the vehicles diverted for Zanu PF campaign purpose. He managed to escape after a
while to seek medical attention.

In Epworth, families have been gathered at an
open space in Epworth to wait for transport to the show grounds in town. Schools
were disrupted and reports from Epworth are that children fainted as they
waited, in the sun, for public transport. They have been waiting for transport
since 6am and could not get help as buses were diverted to the Zanu PF’s
event.

Abednico Munda will have painfully learned that
when it comes to propaganda and Zanu PF’s version of ‘truth’, the old adage that
“the truth hurts” applies in the most literal sense of the phrase.

This morning’s ZBC news categorically stated
that PM Tsvangirai and DPM Mutambara will publically sign the petition at the
Harare showgrounds following the Head of State and Governent and Commander in
Chief of the Armed Forces puts down his signature. This appears to be another
blatant lie. The MDC has been issuing press releases – alerts – doing all it can
to distance itself from† drivel issued by the state propaganda machine. They
couldn’t be clearer than this:

Contrary to incessant ZBC broadcasts that
President Tsvangirai is set to be on the line up of signatories to the Zanu PF
violence petition, the MDC wishes to distance itself from such blatant lies.
Neither President Tsvangirai nor any MDC officials and members are associated
with this Zanu PF project. Zanu PF is desperate to lend credence to its work
after realising that the majority of Zimbabweans, who support the MDC, have no
business with a discredited party that lost the March 2008 general elections.
The MDC dissociates itself from an unpopular and bloodthirsty Zanu PF – party
responsible for mass terror, mass abuse and wholesale deaths of thousands of
innocent Zimbabweans during the past 30 years.

One of our colleagues pointed to the irony of
the so-called petition ‘protest’, pointing out that there were two protests this
week. One was the rumoured ‘million citizen’ march† (inspired by events in
Tunisai, Egypt and Libya) and the other is this, the Zanu PF propaganda petition
protest. He commented in an email:

The major difference between these two calls for
“action” is that the anti-sanctions campaign will be “officially” launched by
the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe defense
forces. Therefore it will be deemed legal, and will be held
at the Harare Agriculture Showground’s open car park. The other campaign was
planned to be held at the Africa Unity square, just in front of the parliament
of Zimbabwe. Clearly, this one will be
illegal.

Another colleague believes that the hasty
organisation of the propaganda petition launch highlights the ruling party’s
paranoia of a Jasmine style of revolution, with both the streets of Harare and
Bulawayo seeing a marked presence of police and military this week. The problem
is, Zanu PF can force people to attend rallies, make them wave their fists in
the air and chant their songs, but until they discover the magic tool that all
politicians yearn for – controlling private thought – we will still always form
our own quiet opinions and know what is really going on. It’s all smoke and
mirrors.

This entry was
posted by Still Here on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011 at 3:00
pm.

CZI,
Bishops, Farmers Join Anti-sanctions Campaign

Harare, March 02, 2011 - The powerful Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Bishops, and the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers
Union (ZCFU) have joined President Robert Mugabe, in his anti-sanctions
campaign which began on Wednesday.

President Mugabe, leader of the
former ruling party, Zanu (PF), reiterated that "sanctions must go now"
while addressing more than 3 000 Zanu (PF) members in
Harare.

President Mugabe said he would continue his crusade against the
West despite the fact that Zimbabwe was being isolated and not receiving
balance of support from international organisations. He said Zimbabwe was no
longer a colony and would go it alone if it demands that.

CZI
President, Joseph Kanyekanye, Bishop Trevor Manhanga and Josiah Hungwe,
addressed the rowdy party youths telling them that they supported the
President in his vicious campaign.

CZI revealed that it would be
supported by more than 300 members from the organisation.

"I came
here as a member of the CZI," Kanyekanye said."There is no such thing as
targeted sanctions. Sanctions have nothing to do with democracy and they are
affecting all of us. We must all say they must go and join President
Mugabe."

Kanyekanye said CZI members had signed a resolution at one of
their meetings to strongly support the anti-sanctions campaign.

He
then signed the petition asking the West to lift international sanctions
against President Mugabe and Zimbabwe.

The sanctions were slapped on
President Mugabe and his cronies because they are alleged by the West of
having abused human rights in Zimbabwe. The leaders are also accused of
bringing down Zimbabwe's economy resulting in people becoming poor and
unemployment soaring to more than 80 percent.

However, President Mugabe,
maintains that the sanctions are affecting virtually everyone in the country
and it is not only him and his family who are facing a torrid time with
them.

The United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK)
recently renewed the sanctions. They said they were still not convinced that
things are normal in Zimbabwe right now.

Bishops also supported
President Mugabe as they were led by Zanu PF functionary, Bishop Trevor
Manhanga at the rally in Harare.

Manhanga said Zimbabweans cannot operate
in a vacuum and "business must not be business as usual"."It is high
time that we open up and free the challenge," he said.

Members from the
Apostolic sect also attended the rally in droves and dressed in their white
regalia waving Zanu (PF) flags. They sang songs praising President
Mugabe.

Joseph Hungwe, President of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union
(ZCFU) also added his weight in the anti-sanctions campaign.

The ZCFU
is the largest organisation for indigenous farmers headed by Hungwe who has
been at the helm for more than 30 years.

"We want 100 percent total
empowerment," Hungwe told the audience dressed in Zanu (PF) regalia. Before
the rally began there was tight police presence in Harare especially in the
Central Business district (CBD) where it was expected that some MDC would
take to the streets to demand the removal of President Mugabe who turned 87
last week.

He has been at the helm of Zimbabwe since April 18,
1980.

A senior member from the Government of Namibia said his government
will also sign a petition calling for the removal of sanctions against
President Robert Mugabe and his cronies.

The official who represented
the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) said: "Namibia will
start a solidarity campaign in support of President Mugabe and his
government."

"We supported Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe supported us even during
the days of the struggle."

The official then signed the petition in
Harare after the four hour rally making him the first official from
neighbouring countries to do so

President
Robert Mugabe said Zimbabwe should move quickly to take over British
companies operating in the southern African nation and called on people to
boycott their products.

Mugabe was speaking at a rally to demand the
European Union and U.S. lift sanctions against him and senior members of his
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party. Mugabe says the
sanctions were responsible for a decade-long recession that ended last
year.

“It is not enough to speak against sanctions,” Mugabe told the
rally in the capital, Harare, today. “We can’t keep hosting more than 400
British firms here, including mines.” It is “now time to take measures
against them.”

Barclays Plc and Standard Chartered Plc are among the
British companies operating in Zimbabwe, alongside miners Anglo American Plc
and Rio Tinto Plc. A new Indigenization and Empowerment Act, which has been
approved by lawmakers, will compel foreign and white-owned businesses to
cede 51 percent of their shares to black Zimbabweans.

“I have said
the indigenization and empowerment process should start with those firms,”
Mugabe said, referring to British companies. “We must take them over. We can
also boycott their products.”

The U.K.’s Foreign Office described the
move as “irresponsible,” and said in an e-mailed statement that it will
“deter much needed foreign investment.” The comments were echoed by Prime
Minister David Cameron.

“We have made clear to the Zimbabwean authorities
on a number of occasions that they shouldn’t do anything to undermine
investor confidence or Zimbabwe’s fragile economic recovery,” Cameron’s
spokesman Steve Field said today. “The biggest losers would be the
Zimbabwean people themselves.”

Mugabe’s Zanu-PF has shared power with
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change since Feb.
2009 after violence-marred elections failed to give either leader an
outright victory.

UK
announces 15% increase in aid to Zim

LONDON - On 1 March,
Andrew Mitchell MP, Britain’s Secretary of State for International
Development, announced a 15% increase in the British Government’s bilateral
aid programme in Zimbabwe, from just over $110 million (£70 million) in
2010/11 to almost $130 million (£80 million) this coming year.†† The news
was part of Mitchell’s announcement on the future of the United Kingdom’s
global aid programme over the next four years.According to forecasts from
the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the aid programme
in Zimbabwe is set to increase to over $150 million (£95 million) by
2014/15.† Mitchell also made clear that Britain stands ready to offer more
help if the Inclusive Government implements the reforms promised in the
Global Political Agreement and holds credible elections.Ambassador Mark
Canning said: “This is great news for ordinary Zimbabweans. We have a proven
track record of delivering benefits to Zimbabwe and now we will be able to
do even more.† We will, for example, be able to improve food security for an
additional 500,000 people; support 420,000 children to complete five years
of primary school; create jobs for 125,000 people (two thirds of whom will
be women) and help provide one million people with access to clean drinking
water.† Amidst so much political propaganda around the issue of so-called
sanctions, this demonstrates yet again that the United Kingdom is firmly
committed to supporting Zimbabwe and improving the lives of the most
disadvantaged.”Over the next four years the UK’s development programme in
Zimbabwe will focus on health, particularly maternal and child health, on
education, on increasing access to safe water and sanitation and on
continuing to build livelihoods for the most vulnerable.Mitchell’s
announcement was part of a major shake-up of the UK’s aid programme,
designed to ensure that UK aid was focused more tightly on the countries
where British assistance can have a significant long-term impact on
poverty.† The UK’s contributions to multilateral development organisations
were also scrutinised.By 2016, DFID will have bilateral programmes in the
following countries only – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia,
Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories,
Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan,
Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.DFID’s bilateral programmes
in the following countries will come to an end – Angola, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cambodia, China, Gambia, Indonesia, Iraq,
Kosovo, Lesotho, Moldova, Niger, Russia, Serbia and Vietnam.Following
the review, the following four organisations have been rated as providing
poor value for money and will no longer receive DFID core funding – the
International Labour Organisation (ILO), the UN International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction, UN-HABITAT and the UN Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO).The following organisations will be placed in ‘special
measures’ – the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the development programmes of the
Commonwealth Secretariat, and UNESCO.For more information on the UK’s
new aid priorities, please go to: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/barmar .

Nationalization
not government policy

The MDC dismisses,
as false, the latest threats by Zanu PF indicating that the inclusive
government plans to nationalize foreign businesses and hand them over to a
minority section of Zimbabweans. For the record, it is not government policy
to forcibly seize foreign owned businesses under the guise of
indigenization.

At a party marking his 87th birthday, Robert Mugabe said
the government would target South African backed platinum giant, Zimplats,
and the Swiss milk processor ,Nestle, for nationalization because, in his
view, they were looting the nation’s prime resources.

With respect to
the latter (Nestle) the specific reason he gave was that they refused to
purchase milk products from Gushungo Dairies- an entity owned by his family.
We find this not only strange but also disturbing. Strange because normal
business practice is that a consumer is free to exercise their choice
relating to which product to purchase. In making such choices, consumers
normally take into account a variety of factors especially the quality of
the product within the context of their own specifications, and of course,
the price.

Could these be the critical factors that informed Nestle’s
decision we wonder? Disturbing because he is clearly using his position as
President to threaten Nestle with that type of action simply for exercising
their right to choose?

With respect to the former (Zimplats), Robert
Mugabe’s accusations that “Zimplats has never given us any substantial
money…they are taking all the money to South Africa”, are not only based on
inaccurate information but are also disingenuous.

Available
information suggests that Zimplats have always operated within the framework
of Zimbabwe’s tax legislation, and more importantly, have recently announced
a US$500 million investment and expansion plan for this country. This, in
our view, is clearly not “…taking all the money to South Africa” especially
as their reported profits for the half year to December 2010 were US$85
million. Disingenuous, because we are aware of their commendable social
responsibility policy whereby they have constructed various
community-related projects such as hospitals, Clinics and Schools in their
areas of operation. The donation of a mortuary to the Zvishavane government
hospital and the construction of a School in that area by their subsidiary,
Mimosa Platinum mine, are cases in point.

We wish to advise the
people of Zimbabwe that the legal and policy position of the Inclusive
Government has no provision for this kind of disruptive behavior by Robert
Mugabe. One of the key political drivers underpinning the Inclusive
Government is the need for economic stabilization and growth. Clearly his
utterances are inimical to this. Economic growth is only possible where more
investors, both local and foreign, are encouraged to set up shop in Zimbabwe
rather than being driven away through statements which cause uncertainty and
raise risk perceptions in their minds.

An MDC government will encourage
foreign direct investment in this country subject to the investors’
commitments to: operating within acceptable corporate governance practices,
maintaining healthy and safe working environments, ensuring the sustainable
use of natural resources, guaranteeing fair returns to all stakeholders and
cultivating a high moral and social conscience consistent with acceptable
labour relations and social justice.

The MDC finds Mugabe’s
statements confused and contradictory. Recently when he opened the “One Stop
Shop” at the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, he appealed for increased
foreign direct investment. Today, he has shifted his position calling for
the wholesale takeover of existing business entities.

We in the MDC are
for the creation of an enabling environment for greater investment, respect
for private business initiatives, encouraging Zimbabweans to lawfully expand
the economic cake, rather than shrink it further by plundering the few
existing companies struggling to take off after years of politically induced
economic stagnation, hyperinflation, economic mismanagement and endemic
corruption.

Zimbabwe says
UN rights chief biased, insulting

GENEVA, March 2 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe on
Wednesday accused United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay of being
biased against the country and suggested she was a pawn of Western efforts
to undermine President Robert Mugabe.

Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa, a longtime Mugabe loyalist, launched the attack against Pillay, a
South African former judge at the international criminal court, after she
criticised arrests in Zimbabwe last week.

"We take great exception to the
biased, mischievous and partisan stance that the person of the High
Commissioner has taken over the years with respect to our country,"
Chinamasa told the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Zimbabwe was determined "to
ensure that the (Pillay) office is immunised from being used as a pawn in
the wider political game," he declared.

Like many other African and Asian
countries, many of them members of the 47-member rights council, Zimbabwe
has been increasingly angered at Pillay's outspoken defence of the right to
free speech around the world.

But the long-ruling Mugabe and close aides
are also believed to be alarmed at the decision last Friday by the rights
body, of which Zimbabwe is not currently a member, to ask the U.N. General
Assembly to suspend Libya's membership.

The dominant non-aligned
movement (NAM) bloc in the council normally shields other developing
countries from any serious criticism and only three months ago hailed
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's Libya as a model of human rights
observance.

Zimbabwe itself comes up for a review of its rights
record in the body later this year.

Diplomats from less authoritarian
members of the bloc say Zimbabwe and some other NAM members fear the action
against Libya -- confirmed in the General Assembly on Tuesday -- could be a
precedent for action against them.

In a statement on Monday, Pillay said
the arrests last week of 46 people attending a discussion meeting in Harare
on recent events in Egypt and Tunisia -- where popular protests have led to
the ousting of presidents --† were illegal.

"These arrests appear to
be part of a growing crackdown on civil society and members of the political
opposition, and are a clear sign that the establishment of a consolidated
democracy in Zimbabwe is still very far from assured," she
said.

Chinamasa said the detainees were held for "organising activities
aimed at subverting a lawful government." Pillay's comments were "tantamount
to interference in the judicial process and demonstrate a contempt for our
institutions."

Political
Doubt Hits Zimbabwe Investors

By FARAI MUTSAKA in Harare, Zimbabwe
and PETER WONACOTT in Johannesburg

A daily stream of multinational
executives ask Zimbabwe's Industry and Commerce minister the same question:
Does President Robert Mugabe plan to seize my company?

"I can't give
them any firm assurance," said the minister, Welshman Ncube, who belongs to
the Movement for Democratic Change, one of three political parties that form
Zimbabwe's fragile coalition government. "That is always going to be
difficult when we have people in government who are speaking strongly in
favor of takeovers."

Indigenization Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, who
works a few floors above in the same building, had a different answer. He
said companies from Western nations targeting Mr. Mugabe and his allies with
sanctions are likely candidates for a majority local acquisition, or
"indigenization," as it's known under an embryonic Zimbabwean law. That
stance is sowing doubt among investors.

"Hostile Western countries
are not showing any signs of relenting, and the only way to protect
ourselves against that hostility is by making sure those companies are in
the hands of local people," said Mr. Kasukuwere, who belongs to Mr. Mugabe's
Zanu-PF party.

On Tuesday, Mr. Mugabe, who has ruled the country since
1987, faced not only external pressure but the threat of protests by local
opposition groups. A heavy police and military presence that included
armored cars, trucks of riot police and water-cannon vehicles appeared to be
effective in deterring the planned antigovernment protests in Harare, the
capital. Activists who tried to organize via Facebook and mobile phones said
they were inspired by the ongoing Middle-East protests.

Mr. Mugabe
doesn't tolerate gatherings of political opponents. Zimbabwe's security
forces recently arrested 45 political activists for allegedly plotting to
end his rule. The U.S. embassy called on Zimbabwe's government to
investigate allegations the activists were tortured.

On Wednesday, Mr.
Mugabe will continue efforts to halt the Western sanctions with a mass rally
in Harare. His party aims to get two million people—or about one-sixth the
country's population—to sign a petition to protest the
measures.

Zimbabwe's president has resorted to draconian economic
measures before to drum up political support. In 2000, he allowed his
supporters to seize white-owned farms ahead of elections.Amid the war of
words over foreign investment in Zimbabwe, the economy is suffering
collateral damage. Foreign companies have been considering exit strategies,
scaling back or not investing in the south ern African country renowned for
its mineral riches, fertile farmland and educated
workforce.

Following violent elections in 2008, Mr. Mugabe and his
political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, were forced into a coalition government,
with Mr. Tsvangirai becoming prime minister. Mr. Mugabe has argued for
elections this year, while Mr. Tsvangirai has said constitutional reforms
must be tackled first. The two are also butting heads over the
indigenization law, with Mr. Tsvangirai warning that expropriation of assets
will scare away investors.

The prospect that the fractious "unity
government" could break up and lead to elections this year is heightening
uncertainty among investors.

South Africa's Massmart Holdings, a company
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in talks to buy to pave its way into the Africa's
billion-person market, said it was in the process of selling two of its
stores in Zimbabwe to a local retailer. A Massmart spokesperson cited
uncertainty over the indigenization law.

"Zimbabwe is not ready for prime
time," said R. Michael Jones, CEO of Platinum Group Metals, a group that has
invested heavily in South Africa but is steering clear of its neighbor
despite its massive platinum reserves. "Until there's a change in the
business environment, we won't be investing there."

Aside from
depriving a weak economy of capital and jobs, the investor caution also
means Zimbabwe's factory and mines often aren't getting technical upgrades
needed to stay competitive, analyts say.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries says factories on average are operating at 30% capacity because
of lack of lending and the reluctance of foreign firms to invest in their
Zimbabwe subsidiaries.

Zimbabwe's economy grew 8.1 % in 2010 compared to
5.1% the prior year thanks to a confidence-building political settlement and
the introduction of the U.S. dollar as an official currency. Officials and
economists say the figure would have been far higher without the controversy
around the indigenization law.

"Industry is suffocating," said the
confederation's president, Joseph Kanyekanye.

Scores of activists,
including the co-chairman of COPAC Douglas Mwonzora and the leader of the
International Socialist Organisation of Zimbabwe Munyaradzi Gwisai (a former
MP for the MDC in the Highfield constituency in Harare) have been arrested
as a result of nationwide police raids.

‘State security agents such as
the police, the army and the Central Intelligence Organisation have become
part of a cabal that is at the centre of a well-orchestrated partisan
operation to instil fear in the people of Zimbabwe.

‘The arrest of
Munyaradzi Gwisai and 45 others, Douglas Mwonzora and 23 others in Nyanga
and many other innocent villagers and activists across the country is at the
centre of impunity, violence and the selective application of the law which
has conspired to poison the political atmosphere in the country,’ Tsvangirai
said in statement.

The Prime Minister said the MDC side of government
does not believe that the government is under threat from its citizens to
the extent of detaining people for watching a video.

‘We urge SADC,
the African Union and the international community at large to keep an eye on
Zimbabwe. The country risks sliding over the precipice if the guarantors of
the GPA do not take immediate action to come up with a binding roadmap as a
precondition ahead of the next election,’ he said.

Tsvangirai’s plea to
SADC and the AU comes as pro-democracy groups expressed fears that the
former ruling ZANU PF party is now grossly interfering with the criminal
justice system, to tackle its political adversaries.

With Robert Mugabe
firmly in control of all the security and military services in Zimbabwe, the
ZANU PF leader is being accused of overseeing a broad crackdown on
pro-democracy activists, including several legislators from the
MDC-T.

At least 71 political detainees are currently in custody, charged
with offenses including treason, violence and organising political
gatherings without police authority.

On Tuesday police in Harare also
summoned National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) chairperson Lovemore Madhuku
to stand trial for allegedly organising a demonstration in
2006.

Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise reported Wednesday that seven of
their activists arrested on Tuesday appeared in court and were granted bail
with reporting conditions. Fourteen other activists arrested Tuesday
afternoon were released the same day without charge.

The crackdown
started in Nyanga North two weeks ago when police arrested Mwonzora plus 23
villagers aligned to his party. The cooked-up charges related to public
violence, but even though all 24 were granted bail the Mugabe regime invoked
controversial legislation to suspend the bail order.

Last week Friday
MDC-99 faction leader Job Sikhala was arrested by heavily armed police who
initially claimed they wanted to question him over statements made on his
Facebook page.

The former MP for St Mary’s was then accused of being
behind planned street protests set for 1st March. Police later charged
Sikhala with kidnapping, alleging this is linked to a diamond deal that went
wrong.

On the 19th February police units broke into a meeting in Harare
and arrested Gwisai and 45 activists who were watching video footage of
protests in the Middle East and North Africa.

A discussion on the
protests was later held before police disrupted the meeting. The regime
charged them with treason last week and promptly tortured the alleged ring
leaders, including Gwisai.

A number of other people currently in
detention have also been tortured.

Harare Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi
on Tuesday ordered prison authorities to allow private medical practitioners
to examine and treat the 45 social and human rights activists who were
subjected to torture while in police custody and those whose health has been
compromised as a result of disruption to the administration of their
medication.A fuming defence Lawyer, Alec Muchadehama told us that none of
his clients had been allowed to be examined by their doctors by
Wednesday.

‘As I’m speaking to you now, I’m coming from the prison
complex were my clients have all been locked up into their cells without
been seen by their doctors. The excuse that I got from prison officers is
that they’ve not yet seen the directive from the magistrate to allow them to
let our clients be medically examined.

‘So we have gone back to the
Attorney-General’s office to register our displeasure at this delaying
tactic, so we hope they will transmit that directive as soon as possible to
allow our clients to be examined urgently, including those that have
existing medical conditions,’ Muchadehama said.

Political analyst Promise
Mkwananzi told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that Mugabe and ZANU PF’s
repression went far wider than just arrests of activists
countrywide.

‘We are now seeing a political party in government that lost
the mandate of the people two years ago waging a systematic and brutal
crackdown to try and regain lost ground. Security forces have arrested,
tortured and detained peaceful citizens of this country.

‘The
crackdown has frightened Zimbabwe and it has exposed ZANU PF’s real face,
and has proved that it is out to muzzle all the voices crying out for
freedom,’ Mkwananzi said.

Mkwananzi claimed ZANU PF was creating
thuggish provincial ‘hit squads’ around the country as a kind of private
militia, adding they (ZANU PF) are using their militia as a strike force
against Mugabe’s enemies and opponents.

Women of Zimbabwe Arise Hunted by
Police

In the last two days, members of civil rights
organization WOZA have been targeted and arrested by police in
Zimbabwe. Seven members of WOZA and MOZA (Men of Zimbabwe Arise) were arrested
yesterday at private homes. They were not engaging in any activity in violation
of the law, although three are accused of smoking marijuana based on having
“black hands.”

One of the women arrested yesterday is a nursing
mother who has been denied access to her child. When visited today by family,
several of those arrested indicated they were subjected to beatings on
the soles of their feet. This is a torture method called falanga and is
a common instrument in the torture arsenal of Zimbabwe police.

Today, 14 more women were arrested. Four are
WOZA members, the other 10 are not. They were merely in the wrong place at the
wrong time. The wrong place was a meeting to contribute $1 to a burial society
fund. At this time, not all of these women are accounted for as they have been
taken to several different police stations. According to WOZA “police officers,
some in full riot gear, visited the homes of another 6 members but they were not
home.”

This is clear evidence of the increasing
harassment and intimidation of civil society. I also believe the
Zimbabwe police are actively hunting for WOZA leadership (but this is my
personal opinion so please take it as such). At this time, we are not
instituting any action until we have further information but please continue to press President Zuma of
South Africa to ensure anticipated
voting in Zimbabwe is free, fair and without further violence. I will update
with more information when available.

WOZA
leader says protests need proper planning

Zimbabwean activists are “not as committed to the hard underground
work that needs to be done” in order to organize successful protests against
the Mugabe regime. This was the damning verdict of Jenni Williams, the
leader of the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA).On Wednesday
Williams was taking questions from SW Radio Africa listeners on the Question
Time programme and said those who attempted to organise the protest marches
that flopped on Tuesday were not ‘genuine’ in their efforts. In response to
the internet campaigns that called for Mugabe to be forced out of office,
hordes of heavily armed soldiers and riot police were deployed in the
cities.

“They think if you just send an e-mail saying ‘Million Citizen
March’ people will suddenly be millions in the street. It doesn’t work like
that, it did not work like that in Tunisia, Egypt and other African
countries.” Williams said protest marches on such a scale needed “years of
mobilization, workshopping, meetings, educating people and setting up forums
to discuss how they will be executed”.

“I really question whether the
person behind it (Million Citizen March) was genuine. If they were genuine
they would have started mobilizing on the ground, which there was no
evidence of,” Williams said. She added that apart from everyone in the
country not having access to the internet and facebook, “Zimbabweans are
extremely stressed and focused on surviving on a day to day
basis.”

Responding to a question that WOZA were not ‘team players’
and did not engage other pressure groups, Williams said they have in fact
engaged many other groups but serious infighting in civil society put paid
to such efforts. She gave the example of how various groups went their
separate ways over whether to take part in, or resist, a government backed
constitution-making exercise.NB: You can listen to the full interview
with Jenni Williams on Question Time.

Magistrate
too busy to deal with case of detained activists

A Harare magistrate says he is too busy to attend to a case
involving 45 trade union and student activists, arrested on the 19th
February and charged with treason for watching video footage of protests in
Egypt and Tunisia.

On Monday the same magistrate failed to turn up for a
scheduled hearing claiming he was attending a meeting. It was later revealed
that the Monday meeting, cited as an excuse, was in fact held with Chief
Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, who allegedly ‘summoned’ the magistrate for
unexplained reasons.

The delaying tactics continued on Tuesday as
Mutevedzi said he will only deliver a ruling on the 7th March because he
will be not be available in court due to some ‘prior
commitments.’Defence lawyer Alec Muchadehama told SW Radio Africa that they
were wondering what was more important; the welfare of their clients, some
who are on anti-retroviral medication and some badly tortured, or the ‘prior
commitments’ of the magistrate.

Gwisai, a former MP in Prime Minister
Tsvangirai’s MDC party, was arrested alongside 45 other student and trade
union activists for holding a meeting at which footage of protests in the
Middle East and North Africa was shown and later discussed. One of the
activists arrested was released on Thursday after apparently ‘defecting’ and
deciding to write an affidavit as a state witness.

MDC MP
Harassed Over "Million March"

Bulawayo, March
02, 2011 - The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) legislator for
Bulawayo Central Dorcas Sibanda was on Tuesday arrested on allegations of
organising a meeting to support an anti-government million
march.

Since last week online campaigns had been circulated by email
and on the social networking website Facebook, calling on Zimbabweans to
take part in a ‘Million Citizens March’ on Tuesday. The aim of the protest
was to call for Robert Mugabe to step down from power, just like similar
civil uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

However some overzealous
police officers in Bulawayo arrested Sibanda at Holiday Inn hotel in the
city where she was having a meeting with Mpilo hospital staff and Ministry
of Health officials. The meeting was meant to organise a fundraising event
for the dilapidated government hospital.

“It was just a small meeting to
organise a fundraising event for the hospital but were surprised when police
in riot gear stormed the hotel before arresting me and officials from Health
Ministry,” Sibanda who was detained for more than five hours at Bulawayo
Central police station told Radio VOP after release.

Sibanda and five
Ministry of Health officials who were accused of support the anti-government
march and were also charged with holding a meeting without police clearance.
They were only released after the intervention of their lawyers.

On
Monday heavily armed police in riot gear also went on rampage in Bulawayo
central business district beating up people for standing in groups over the
one million march.

Last week former MDC legislator for Highfield
Munyaradzi Gwisai and 44 other human rights activists were arrested and
charged with trying to oust President Robert Mugabe after being found
watching videos of the Egyptian and Tunisian revolution in Harare. There are
still languishing in remand prison after denied bail by a Harare Magistrate.

Keep
an eye on Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai appeals

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai appealed to world leaders to
“keep an eye on Zimbabwe” as he warned the country “risks sliding over the
precipice” if elections were called without “a binding
roadmap”.

Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe’s security services -- the police, the
army and the Central Intelligence Organisation – “have become part of a
cabal that is at the centre of a well-orchestrated partisan operation to
instill fear in the people of Zimbabwe” as President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF
party beats the election drum.

“Those who have been in power here for
decades, and have repressed and stolen from the Zimbabwean people, have
committed to change and have signed up to specific reforms and principles,”
Tsvangirai said in Harare on Wednesday.

“Sadly, they continue to
flout those obligations, and renege on those undertakings. They continue to
use their more familiar tools of violence and intimidation.”

But the
MDC leader, who entered a coalition with President Robert Mugabe and a
smaller MDC splinter group in 2009, insisted he was “not advocating giving
up" on the unity government.

Tsvangirai spoke as dozens of opposition
supporters and rights activists remained in prison after being arrested
across the country on allegations of plotting to destabilise the
government.

“The MDC side of government does not believe that this
government is under threat from its citizens to the extent of detaining
people for watching a video,” Tsvangirai said in reference to the former MDC
MP Munyaradzi Gwisai, and 44 others, who are held on treason charges after
police stormed a February 18 meeting where they were watching videos of
north African uprisings which forced a change of government in Egypt and
Tunisia.

The Prime Minister added: “We do not believe that ordinary
Zimbabweans should be victimised because others in government have an
inherent fear of the people.

“The arrest of Gwisai and 45 others, Hon
Douglas Mwonzora and 23 others in Nyanga and many other innocent villagers
and activists across the country is at the centre of impunity, violence and
the selective application of the law which has conspired to poison the
political atmosphere in the country.”

Tsvangirai once again appealed to
the Southern African Development Community, guarantors of the power sharing
pact, to lean on President Robert Mugabe to reign in his shock troops and
sign up to a cross-party “roadmap” to guarantee the credibility of elections
which Zanu PF says will be held this year.

But Mugabe says he has
given enough concessions to the MDC without reciprocal action, demanding
that Tsvangirai does more to campaign for western sanctions on the country
to be lifted -- a key Zanu PF demand in the coalition agreement.

Chinese
spy centre taps diplomats?

The Chinese are building a multimillion dollar military base
at Chitamba Farm in Mazowe Valley. Touted as an intelligence academy, the
new facility is the largest investment in a military base here in a decade,
and the biggest spend on military infrastructure in decades.

The
so-called Robert Mugabe National School of Intelligence, named after the
veteran President, is being bankrolled by the Chinese.

"The important
role of defending our country cannot be left to mediocre officers incapable
of comprehending and analytically evaluating the operational environment to
ensure that the sovereignty of our state is not only preserved, but
enhanced," Mugabe said at the launch of the building of the academy in
October 2007.

Military sources described it as "a techno-spy and
communication base". The imposing intelligence facility is conspicuous from
the Mazowe Road and is adjacent to a massive farming operation.

The
facility is the largest such complex in the country, and will be operated by
the Chinese and its foreign intelligence service in conjunction with
Zimbabwe's spy organ, the CIO and local military intelligence.

The
facility covers several square miles. Chinese engineers, technicians, and
military personnel are working at the base. Our source claimed the base has
multiple groups of tracking dishes and its own satellite system, with some
groups used to intercept telephone calls, faxes, and computer communications
in general, and other groups used to cover targeted telephones and
devices.

He said the facility will also monitor diplomatic, domestic,
commercial and military communications, but we could not independently
verify these claims. However, China does have a strong presence in many
sectors in Zimbabwe, and Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei have supplied most
of the country’s internet equipment.

The academy is expected to train
members of the Zimbabwean army, CIO and police, as well as operatives from
other southern African countries. A local farmer said: "It’s scary to have
your area just taken over by the military. It’s a game changer in this
place."

Ties between the two countries date back to the 1960s - when the
Chinese supported Zanla, the military wing of Zanu, with training and
equipment - have deepened since Zimbabwe's political isolation from the West
more than a decade ago.

China has been described as the "only major
international supporter" of Zimbabwe, due to its willingness to turn a blind
eye to human rights abuses. Zimbabwe's "Look East" policy has expanded
bilateral and trade relations and China is now the biggest buyer of
Zimbabwean tobacco. It is also especially interested in our platinum and
diamond deposits.

The government has used military hardware from China to
wage war against its own people. It has purchased massive amounts of
military hardware from China, including a $13 million radar system, six
Hongdu JL-8 jet aircraft, 12 JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft, and more than
200 military vehicles since June 2004 – reportedly using the new-found
diamond wealth.

Statement by Rt Hon Morgan R Tsvangirai,President of the Movement for Democratic Change and Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe

Wednesday, 02 March 2011††† ††††††† ZIMBABWE'S MARCH TO REAL
CHANGE††† We meet today against the backdrop of significant
happenings elsewhere in Africa. However, in Zimbabwe we are experiencing a new
wave of repression against the people’s universal right to free choice and free
expression.

The past five months have seen a significant rise in the
culture of impunity and violence against the people of this country all in the
name of an election. Suffice to say that we have not even begun to implement the
Global Political Agreement and all the parties to the inclusive government have
yet to adopt a roadmap as a precondition to a free and fair election in
Zimbabwe.

It is in the context of the on-going culture of impunity and
violence that we have seen people being frog-marched across the country and in
the urban centres to attend a Zanu PF function in Harare today. Businesses have
been forced to close while motorists and commuter omnibus operators have been
diverted from their routes to make the numbers at this function, in clear
violation of the GPA where the rights of citizens are supposed to be respected
in light of the new inclusive dispensation.†Indeed, no section of the
GPA is more important than the other. It is in recognition of the people’s basic
rights and freedoms that I and the party I lead find it despicable that people
would be arrested for watching videos of happenings elsewhere in the world,
videos of events that are already in the public domain. We shudder at the
culture of impunity and the renewed wave of arrests of MDC MPs and political and
civic activists detained in our prisons while Zanu PF perpetrators of violence
roam free.

State security agents such as the police, the army and the
Central Intelligence Organisation have become part of a cabal that is at the
centre of a well-orchestrated partisan operation to instil fear in the people of
Zimbabwe. The arrest of Munyaradzi Gwisai and 45 others, Hon Douglas Mwonzora
and 23 others in Nyanga and many other innocent villagers and activists across
the country is at the centre of impunity, violence and the selective application
of the law which has conspired to poison the political atmosphere in the
country.

The MDC side of government does not believe that this government
is under threat from its citizens to the extent of detaining people for watching
a video. We do not believe that ordinary Zimbabweans should be victimised
because others in government have an inherent fear of the people.

We urge
SADC, the African Union and the international community at large to keep an eye
on Zimbabwe. The country risks sliding over the precipice if the guarantors of
the GPA do not take immediate action to come up with a binding roadmap as a
precondition ahead of the next election.

People across the world,
including Zimbabwe, yearn for their right to make political choices with neither
fear nor coercion. They reserve their rights of expression, movement and
assembly.† The people are the real government and they have the universal
authority and mandate to make a statement to any government.†††† As
president of the MDC, the people’s party of freedom and real change in Zimbabwe,
I would like to state that violence against the people must stop. Events
elsewhere on the continent provide the fundamental lesson that repression has
its lifespan.. And there is only one right result: freedom.

All people,
Africans, Asians, Arabs, Americans, Europeans alike… desire and deserve
freedom.† They do not deserve dictatorship and repression, nor violence and
abuse at the hands of the State and the leaders who should serve them.† I have
no doubt that, eventually, all repressed people will gain the freedom which they
deserve.† The inexorable march of liberation can be seen and felt today,
stronger and louder than for many years.

The courage and dignity of
repressed peoples can be seen and felt on the streets of this continent. And
this is why I also wish to applaud the determination of the United Nations and
the leaders of the world to support those people who suffer at the hands of
tyrants and dictators.† The people of Africa have created this march to
freedom and it will succeed. We have a process in place here, which is supposed
to be guaranteed and supported by other countries of this region. †††
Those who have been in power here for decades, and have repressed and stolen
from the Zimbabwean people, have committed to change and have signed up to
specific reforms and principles.† Sadly, they continue to flout those
obligations, and renege on those undertakings.† They continue to use their more
familiar tools of violence and intimidation.† But I am not advocating giving up
on that process.

I still believe that, if SADC, fellow African countries
and the international community show the right will and the right commitment to
Zimbabwe, we can secure freedom here too, and do so peacefully.†

What is
needed is no more and no less than the full respect and the full implementation
of the Global Political Agreement.

In other words,:

an end to all violence;

an end to all abuse of power;

and genuine free and fair elections.†

Across this continent,
whether in Libya, in the Ivory Coast or in Zimbabwe or elsewhere, what is at
stake is freedom and dignity. Let us stand by our brothers and sisters as they
fight for their freedom and dignity.† We in the MDC want peace to return
in Zimbabwe, the land of our birth.

We want freedom and democracy flourish.

We want the people to have the freedom to pursue and live their dreams in a
new Zimbabwe characterised by peace, hope, dignity, prosperity and freedom.

WILF
MBANGA: We need to keep telling Zimbabwe’s stories

‘Zimbabwe is like a
tinderbox. Everybody is afraid. Mugabe and his generals are particularly
terrified’Published: 2011/03/02 06:59:27 AM

LAST weekend, 46
individuals met in Harare to discuss lessons to be learnt from the
developments in North Africa. Suffering under the oppressive 31-year yoke of
President Robert Mugabe, the participants felt particularly keenly the
victories of the masses over long- time dictators Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and
Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia.

Those 46 people, who include 11
women, are now bloodied and beaten in Mugabe’s jails. Ten have been tortured
in an attempt to extract confessions that they were planning Egypt-style
uprisings to end Mugabe’s rule. All were initially denied access to their
lawyers and medical help. They have now been charged with treason and face
death by hanging if found guilty.

This iron-fisted overreaction by Mugabe
shows the level of his panic. Ever since the North African protests gathered
momentum, the state-controlled radio, television and newspapers that
dominate the media landscape in Zimbabwe have downplayed the news.
Sycophantic Zanu (PF) columnists have been given hundreds of column
centimetres to pontificate that such things could never happen in Zimbabwe —
and if anyone dared try, the army was ready and willing to use maximum force
to crush them.

Desperate for information, Zimbabweans are watching
satellite television and reading whatever independent news they can get hold
of. Newspaper readership is much higher than circulation figures suggest —
week-old newspapers are passed on and read avidly, eventually making their
way to the remotest rural areas. The good news is that 4- million
Zimbabweans have cellphones and SMSes are a key form of
communication.

Fighting for the right to inform the people about what is
happening in their own and other countries are a few independent newspapers
and foreign-based radio stations.

A key player in this David vs
Goliath scenario is The Zimbabwean, which since 2005 has battled to keep
open a modicum of democratic space in the media. The newspaper has just
launched a new campaign to highlight the continued denial of freedom of
speech in Zimbabwe — even under the Government of National Unity (GNU)
formed in 2009 between Zanu (PF) and the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).

Freedom of the press remains shackled by the draconian
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which demands that all
media organisations and journalists have to be licensed by a
government-appointed commission. Despite the GNU, this secretariat is still
headed by Mugabe apologist Tafataona Mahoso — the man responsible for the
closure of five newspapers in 2003.

With the world transfixed by the
tumultuous changes and protests in North Africa and the Middle East, The
Zimbabwean is redoubling its efforts to protect freedom of speech for
Zimbabweans. It is vital that the world’s media does not forget the daily
struggles taking place in our country.

Known for his incendiary hate
speech, Mugabe is on record as saying that the bullet is more powerful than
the ballot. The cabal of generals keeping him in power are a battle-
hardened bunch who would not think twice about shooting down Zimbabweans in
cold blood — as Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s armed forces have done in
his country over the past week.

Zimbabweans themselves are under no
illusions as to the fate that awaits them should they dare to rise up.
Websites are awash with opinion pieces about their chances — many say they
are cowards, tired, browbeaten. One thing is certain — the armed forces are
firmly in Mugabe’s pocket, and are unlikely to behave the way the Egyptian
army did.

But people forget that in the 1970s, against all odds, the
masses rose up against then prime minister Ian Smith’s powerful arsenal.
They were arrested, some were hanged and thousands left the country to
fight. The same thing happened in 1997. Spontaneous, leaderless food riots
broke out in one suburb of Harare and spread throughout the country. They
were ruthlessly crushed — but the riots happened. I believe it could happen
again.

Zimbabwe is like a tinderbox. You can smell the fear. Everybody is
afraid. Mugabe and his generals are particularly terrified.

One lone
activist called for a million citizens to march yesterday, circulating the
call on the internet. But by midday there was no sign of any gathering in
the large park in Harare named as the protest venue.

Police have
threatened to crush any "Egypt-style" protests.

The GNU — which was
supposed to herald the end of Mugabe’s regime — has proved to be its
saviour. The relative economic stability that resulted from the MDC being
brought into government, with the end of ridiculous hyper-inflation and the
return of goods to the shelves, has blunted the desperate anger that could
have fuelled an Egypt conflagration in Harare. The hatred of the Zanu (PF)
government has been diluted by the presence of MDC MPs in parliament. And of
course the discovery of eye-watering deposits of diamonds has upped the
stakes all round.

Mugabe says he wants elections this year. His thugs
have been intimidating and beating people, forcing them to attend Zanu (PF)
meetings and burn their MDC membership cards, since before Christmas last
year. He is determined to win another five-year term as President and to
keep Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai from ever taking over.

So now,
more than ever, we must continue to fight for freedom of speech and to tell
the stories coming out of Zimbabwe.

Incredibly brave, ordinary people’s
personal stories illustrate their battle against oppression and injustice
and the huge price they have paid as a result. Their voices deserve to be
heard.

Open letter to David Cameron

02 March 2011

Dear Mr. Cameron,

I am a 25 year old former
Zimbabwean citizen living in England, and have been for almost 8 years now.
It has long been a source of frustration that the British government has
done so little to help ease the situation in Zimbabwe, but this frustration
has increased a thousand fold of late.

We have seen uprisings and
protests across many nations where dictators existed, and this was purely
down to the courage of the people of these respective countries. Throughout
the Egyptian and Tunisian protests, very little support was offered by the
British government to the brave people fighting for basic human rights.
However the Libyan situation has provoked an entirely different reaction.
You have threatened to impose military force through the imposition of a
no-fly zone over Libya, following reports that military aircraft were being
used to bomb protestors. I have included the following news extracts and
their sources for your reference:

This
is a commendable statement, and one which I fully support. It is completely
unacceptable for any government to use force of any kind to oppress the
people’s rights to protest that which they feel is unjust, particularly
where those protests are peaceful and undisruptive. The burning question in
my mind, is why then has nothing been done about Mugabe’s regime? Mugabe has
used military force on the people of Zimbabwe since the early 80’s, when he
ordered the Gukuruhundi massacres, not long after the British government
facilitated his rise to presidency. He has also sanctioned the forceful
removal of hundreds of farmers from their own lands, which resulted in
several farmers dying horrible deaths at the hands of so called “war
veterans”; many of whom were no older than I, and not even born during the
war. I am sure you are already fully aware of all of this though, and do not
require a history lesson from me. To get to my point, I came across the
following statement in a Reuters article:“ZANU-PF has deployed massive shows
of force, including using helicopter gunships, against previous
protests.”http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7200B320110301?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0The
use of helicopter gunships has also been widely reported in the Marange
diamond fields, where he has gunned down hundreds of people desperately
trying to find a mere handful of stones in order to feed themselves and
their starving families. Meanwhile, these diamonds are being sold onto the
open market, making Mugabe and his cronies wealthier by the day while the
majority of his people cannot even afford to feed themselves.Over the
last few years, there has been a lot of talk that the Iraq invasion only
took place because of the oil reserves there. I was reluctant to believe
that, and hoped that the British government at least, was better than that,
and cared more about human lives than about natural resources. Now, faced
with dictatorial leaders falling left and right, the only situation that has
sparked any interest from the British government is that in Libya, the
richest of them all in terms of oil.So the question I wish for you to answer
is why, if not for oil, has Britain condemned Gaddafi’s actions, but is
quite happily ignoring the exact same behaviors in many other countries,
including Zimbabwe? Why is military action against the Libyan people
unacceptable, yet against Zimbabweans it is ignored and brushed under the
carpet? Are the people of Zimbabwe any less human?I have circulated
copies of this letter to a number of newspapers including the BBC, a number
of independent Zimbabwean news sources and Human Rights Activists in South
Africa, and I know we are all eager to hear your
response.

This bulletin updates Bill Watch Special of 26th February listing
committee meetings open to the public this week

Parliamentary Committee Meetings: Thursday 3rd
March

Hearing on Violence Rescheduled to Thursday†The meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs to
hear evidence from the Commissioner-General of Police on recent violence has
been rescheduled to Thursday 3rd March because the Commissioner-General had
other commitments on both Monday and Wednesday.†At time of writing [3.30 pm Wednesday] Parliament had still not
received confirmation that Commissioner-General Chihuri would attend tomorrow’s
meeting.†If Mr Chihuri does attend, the meeting will be open to members of the
public, but as observers only, not as participants.

Portfolio Committee: Defence and Home Affairs

Oral evidence from Commissioner-General of Police on the recent
upsurge in violence and police handling of the situation

Senate Chamber

10 am

Chairperson: Hon Madzore††††††††††† Clerk: Mr Daniel

Note: It is recommended that members of the public wishing to attend the
meeting avoid possible disappointment by checking beforehand with the committee
clerk that the meeting is still on and still open to the
public.†Parliament’s telephone numbers are Harare 700181 or 252936-55.

If attending, please use the Kwame Nkrumah Ave entrance to
Parliament.†IDs must be produced.

The briefing on indigenous mines that was to have been given to the
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment at an open meeting on
Thursday has been called off because the Permanent Secretary for Mines is
unavailable.† Instead the committee will hold private deliberations on its draft
report on another issue.† Not open to the public.

†

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information supplied.